lang: en
Summary
In July 2010, Iranian bazaar merchants in Tehran and other cities staged a general strike to protest a government tax increase of up to 70 percent on many commodities. The strike spread rapidly, leading to negotiations with the government and clashes with security forces. After two weeks, the government agreed to raise the tax by only 15 percent instead of 70 percent, and the merchants ended their strike.
Tactics used
Tactics used
Background
In 2010, the Iranian government under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced a tax increase of up to 70 percent on many commodities, adding to the economic hardship of merchants who already faced low business revenue. Merchants demanded that the tax increase be revoked altogether, and spokesmen from Iran’s trade unions asked that a fixed tax rate be delineated. The strike began in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar on July 6, 2010, and spread to other cities.
What happened
The strike began on July 6, 2010, with Tehran’s Grand Bazaar merchants shutting down their shops, and it spread across sellers of various commodities including jewelry, carpets, and fabric [source: nv-database]. The same day, the government’s tax minister began negotiations with bazaar merchants and trade unions, and reportedly agreed not to raise the VAT by 70 percent [source: nv-database]. However, striking continued into a second week, and by July 14 it had spread to several other large cities [source: nv-database]. On July 18, the Iran News Agency reported clashes between security forces and resistant bazaar merchants, with close to forty merchants injured [source: nv-database]. Despite repressive measures and the government compromise, the strike continued to spread [source: nv-database]. On July 19, a statement issued by the trade unions announced that the government had agreed to raise the tax by 15 percent instead of 70 percent, and unions also demanded that a fixed tax rate be delineated and maintained [source: nv-database]. One provision in the government compromise stipulated that merchants who could show losses from previous years could be considered for an exemption from a tax increase [source: nv-database]. Merchants and trade unions ended their striking activities after the compromise was reached [source: nv-database].
Key people & organizations
- Iranian trade unions
- bazaar guilds
- Association of Guilds
- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
- Tehran Grand Bazaar merchants
Outcome
Verdict: partial.
The merchants achieved a partial victory: they did not get the tax increase revoked entirely, but the government lowered the intended increase from 70 percent to 15 percent, and allowed exemptions for merchants who could show past losses. The campaign sustained success points because the merchants made their demands known, negotiated with the government, and reached a compromise from the original policies. [source: nv-database]
Lessons
- A general strike by a concentrated economic group like bazaar merchants can quickly draw government attention and force negotiations.
- Solidarity across different types of merchants, even those not directly affected by a policy, can amplify the impact of a strike.
- Previous campaigns (like the 2008 strike) can lay groundwork for future action, as the merchant community had established patterns of protest and negotiation.
Sources
- Global Nonviolent Action Database —
[[nv-database]]
Disclaimer: Included as a teaching example of campaign craft, not as endorsement.
Sources & verification
nv-database— grounding: primary — license: link-only- Rewritten: 2026-06-25 via
worker_casestudies_v2.py